1993 Scorecard Vote

Global Population Crisis

House Roll Call Vote 232

Issue: Other

While the U.S. government directly or indirectly supports population and family planning activities in many countries, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) goes further in providing aid to 140 countries, including some which cannot or will not accept direct U.S. aid. The fund receives requests from the developing world for millions of dollars in family planning assistance that it cannot provide due to lack of funds. President Clinton has overturned the policy of the last 12 years and the United States is once again providing financial support to UNFPA.

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) tried to amend the fiscal 1994-95 State Department Authorization (the law which authorizes the funding for appropriations) to prohibit funding of UNFPA unless the President certified that the population stabilization program is not coercive or the fund ceased to contribute to China's program. If passed, no American funding would have been available for any of the U.N.'s population programs despite the fact that no U.S. dollars would fund abortion and no U.S. dollars are spent in China. This amendment was rejected 191-236 on June 16, 1993. NO is the pro-environmental vote.